• Up • Equipment • Tying • Gathering • Flanking • Ground Work • Horse/Dismounts • Practice • Speed • Nutrition/Exercise • Mental/Goals •

Previous Tips on Ground Work

Reaching for the goat with your left hand. 

When running into your goats that are standing at the end of the rope, reach with your left hand as you come into the goat for his front leg.  By reaching, you'll shave tenths off your time & be in better position to flank quicker.  If your left hand comes around the goat's head & down his shoulder for the front leg, you are wasting valuable time.  Your hand should come by the goat's head on the left side (the goat's right, your left)  as you are running into the goat. Video yourself to see what your hand is doing.  When timing one of the girls on the college rodeo team two years ago, she took off half a second  consistently on her ground work when she would reach for her goat with her left hand.

I always straddle the rope whether my goat is straight or on the move.  That way I can control the goat with my feet & it's insurance that he won't get away from me.  If the goat is moving as I am coming to him, I prefer flanking from the lead rope to help control his direction of movement and to get to him faster without getting tangled in the rope.

"Success isn't something that just happens- success is learned, success is practiced and then it is shared."- Sparky Anderson

How good is your ground work?

I like to time myself on my ground work quiet a bit, especially in the 'off season' because it will help keep me focused & hustling through practices.  The time line starts 10 feet from the goat's stake, so you are actually running about 20 feet (on the clock) from the time line to the goat if you are using a 10 foot rope to hold your goat. 

The following situation is on a 45 - 50 lb goat that is standing straight at the end of the rope. Where are you at? 

• over  4.8 seconds: Flank & ty alot to get that smooth- spend most of your practice doing that until you get consistent.  Also work on each element separate- sit on your goat & ty- get fast at tying.  Work just on your gather.  Work just on your flank.  

• 4.7 - 4.4 seconds: You're doing alright- make sure your basics are correct & you don't have any hesitations or pauses between getting to your goat, between flanking & gathering or between your gather & ty.  If so, go back to the basics & just work on smoothing out the transitions between each individual task (the flank & the gather or the gather & the ty as examples)

• 4.3 - 4.1 seconds: Getting better- now work on running as fast as you can into your goat!

• 4.0 - 3.8 seconds: You're on the right track- focus a little more about getting low as you're running into your goat & using your hips to flank & you'll shave even more time off.

• 3.7- 3.5 seconds: Now you're getting somewhere!

• 3.4- 3.2 seconds: You're tough, now put it with the horse work & be mentally tough & you'll be tough to beat!

Play like you are in first, but train like you are in second. - Unknown.